Opposing-hinged doors on vehicles include a first door and a second door arranged on the same side of the vehicle, longitudinally adjacent to each other, with the first door disposed nearer a first end of the vehicle, e.g., a front end of the vehicle, than the second door. Each of the opposing-hinged doors pivots open in an opposite direction. More specifically, the first door includes a forward edge disposed nearer the first end of the vehicle and a rearward edge disposed nearer a second end of the vehicle, e.g., a rearward end of the vehicle. The first door is hinged along the forward edge of the first door, and pivots open in a first pivot direction such that the rearward edge of the first door swings away from the vehicle when opening the first door and toward the vehicle when closing the first door. The second door also includes a forward edge disposed nearer the first end of the vehicle and a rearward edge disposed nearer the second end of the vehicle. The second door is hinged along the rearward edge of the second door, and pivots in a second pivot direction, which is opposite the first pivot direction, such that the forward edge of the second door swings away from the vehicle when opening the second door and toward the vehicle when closing the second door. Accordingly, the first door and the second door open and close in opposite directions.
Opposing-hinged doors may not include a body pillar disposed between the first door and the second door. When no body pillar exists between the first door and the second door, the first door and the second door are arranged immediately adjacent each other in sealing engagement. Typically, the opposing-hinged doors are arranged such that the more forward door, i.e., the first door, must be opened prior to and in order to open the more rearward door, i.e., the second door. In other words, opening the more rearward second door is dependent upon opening the more forward first door beforehand.
If no body pillar exists between the first door and the second door, then the first door and the second door must be designed to permit uninterrupted pivotal movement therebetween in order to allow for the first door and the second door to be independently openable and/or closeable. Because of the swing path that the first door and the second door follow during pivotable movement, interior trim panels of the first door and the second door must be longitudinally spaced from each other to prevent contacting each other during pivotable movement therebetween. This spacing between the interior trim panels of the first door and the second door define an interior gap therebetween, which is unsightly to consumers.